Walton County Tourism Earns Top Honors at Florida Tourism Industry Awards
Walton County Tourism Earns Top Honors at Florida Tourism Industry Awards
Walton County, FL, 09/17/26 – Walton County Tourism was recognized with two Flagler Awards at the annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism awards celebration, held Sept. 10, 2026, in West Palm Beach. Walton County Tourism received a Henry Award in Digital Advertising and a Silver Award in Travel Trade, Meetings & B2B Marketing, recognizing the destination’s innovative approach to marketing, storytelling and driving tourism engagement.
"While it’s always nice to receive recognition, these awards represent something bigger. They reflect the thoughtful, data-informed work being done to promote Walton County responsibly, support our tourism stakeholders and strengthen the local economy," said Matt Algarin, tourism director for Walton County. "This recognition also highlights the creativity and dedication of our Walton County Tourism team and our agency and industry partners who helped bring these projects to life."
The Henry Award, the highest-scoring honor in each Flagler Awards category, recognized Walton County Tourism for “The Precision Pivot: A High-Yield Direct Booking Strategy to Combat Supply Oversaturation” in the Digital Advertising category. The campaign was recognized for its strategic approach to encouraging direct bookings and effectively reaching travelers in an increasingly competitive tourism landscape.
Walton County Tourism also earned a Silver Award in the Travel Trade, Meetings & B2B Marketing category for “The ‘Forever’ Guide Redesign: Engineering a Best-in-Class B2B Sales Tool for South Walton Weddings.” The award recognizes the destination’s efforts to create an engaging and effective resource designed to support business-to-business sales and showcase South Walton as an incredible destination for weddings.
“Winning two awards at this year’s Flagler Awards is a true honor and a reflection of the passion our team has for telling the story of South Walton,” said Kelli Carter, marketing director for Walton County Tourism. “We’re always looking for new and creative ways to showcase our destination and all that we have to offer, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see that work recognized alongside so many talented tourism organizations across Florida.”
Celebrating its 26th year, the Flagler Awards recognize outstanding tourism marketing initiatives across Florida. Individuals, private businesses and not-for-profit organizations offering products or services that promote tourism to or within the state are eligible to submit entries. This year, nearly 300 entries were submitted by organizations of all sizes from across Florida.
An independent panel of 14 judges evaluated each entry based on creativity, innovation, production quality and overall effectiveness. Winners were determined by the judges’ cumulative scores, with the top three entries in each category receiving a Bronze, Silver or Henry Award. Named in honor of Henry Flagler, the Henry Award is presented to the highest-scoring entry in each category.
For more information, please contact the Director of Communications at Nicole@wcfltourism.com.
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